Cape Horn, California
27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 2001. It stands in the Markleeville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95223. It lies near Cliff Meadow. The Survey maps it on the Spicer Meadow Reservoir quadrangle. It stands 8,005 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1896 to 2001The same ground, surveyed 105 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 27 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1896 USGS Dardanelles quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1898 USGS Dardanelles quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1948 USGS Walker Lake quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Dardanelles Cone quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Walker Lake quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1962 USGS Walker Lake quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Walker Lake quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1979 USGS Spicer Meadow Res quadrangle1:24000
- 1979 USGS Spicer Meadow Res. quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Bridgeport quadrangle1:100000
- 2001 USGS Spicer Meadow Reservoir quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
149 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 149 fires within 5 miles of Cape Horn between 1992 and 2020, burning about 4,481 acres in total. 85 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Natural | 85 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 34 |
| Smoking | 11 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 |
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1996 | Smoking | under an acre | Stanislaus National Forest | ELEPHANT |
| 7 September 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Stanislaus National Forest | MOSQUITO |
| 7 September 1993 | Smoking | under an acre | Stanislaus National Forest | WOODCHUCK |
| 5 September 1994 | Smoking | under an acre | Stanislaus National Forest | SMOKER |
| 4 September 1998 | Natural | under an acre | Stanislaus National Forest | STATION |
| 3 September 1998 | Natural | under an acre | Stanislaus National Forest | ALPINE |
| 27 September 2006 | Natural | 5.0 acres | Stanislaus National Forest | WHEELER |
| 26 September 1993 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Stanislaus National Forest | FROG |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 1,901 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,901 specimens collected within 10 miles of Cape Horn between 1863 and 1975: 1,724 Animalia, 120 Fungi, 57 Plantae. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. C. Forrer, A. Eastwood & J. T. Howell, A. Forrer and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Arabis platysperma A.Gray | 1863 | William H. Brewer | Ebbetts Pass |
![]() | Linosyris howardii var. nevadensis A.Gray | 1863 | William H. Brewer | Ebbetts Pass |
![]() | Pellaea breweri D.C.Eaton | 1863 | William H. Brewer | Ebbetts Pass |
![]() | Phacelia hydrophylloides Torr. ex A.Gray | 1863 | William H. Brewer | Near camp at Ebbett's Pass |
![]() | Raillardia argentea A.Gray | 1863 | William H. Brewer | Ebbetts Pass |
![]() | Silene watsonii B.L.Rob. & Seaton | 1863 | William H. Brewer | near Ebbetts Pass |
![]() | Spermophilus beldingi Merriam, 1888 | 1874 | A. Forrer | Bear Valley |
![]() | Iris hartwegii Baker | 1882 | not recorded | |
![]() | Neopeckia coulteri (Peck) Sacc. | 1882 | C.G. Pringle | Sierra Nevada Mts. |
![]() | Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1885 | W.E.B. | Blood's |
![]() | Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) | 1885 | W.E.B. | Blood's |
![]() | Salpinctes obsoletus obsoletus (Say, 1822) | 1886 | F. Stephens | Bear Valley |
All 1,901 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Cape Horn: 2 past producers, 1 occurrence, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Molybdenum, Tungsten. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bull Run No. 1 | Tungsten, Gold | Prospect | ||
| Unknown | Molybdenum | Occurrence | ||
| Gritton and Keefer | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| John Mcculloh Property | Gold, Silver | Past Producer |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Alpine | 2.1 miles | 30 | |
| Bear Valley | 4.3 miles | 30 | |
| Peaceful Pines | 11.1 miles | 26 | |
| Silver Mountain (historical) | 13.1 miles | 32 | |
| Kirkwood | 15.7 miles | 32 | |
| Shay Creek Summer Home Area | 15.7 miles | 28 | |
| Centerville (historical) | 16.1 miles | 29 | |
| Marklee Village | 16.4 miles | 28 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikidata item Q4218985 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1658214. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.






















